BBC Alba coverage of SPFL games

[eez-eh]

16 hours ago, invergowrie arab said:

Well thats good news.

I only watch through iPlayer and it isn't there yet. It’s only 4 years since the BBC said they would though so I'm sure they will be on it soon.

iPlayer looked like it was HD for the Airdrie Hamilton game last night. The picture quality on Freeview was horrible, when I changed to the iPlayer app it was much better.

Edited May 18, 2023 by eez-eh

[Alert Mongoose]

1 hour ago, shuggz said:

Go to watch a game in person, do you get commentary?

You clearly don't sit in the George Fox Lower at Tannadice.  Plenty of commentary with the most luminous examples when an opposition player has the audacity to 'steal' a yard or so at a throw in.

[The Master]

37 minutes ago, eez-eh said:

iPlayer looked like it was HD for the Airdrie Hamilton game last night. The picture quality on Freeview was horrible, when I changed to the iPlayer app it was much better.

iPlayer picture quality is always a bit odd. It "seems" HD, but anything does in comparison to most SD Freeview channels.

[Otis Blue]

Some good points raised by the various posters to my OP here, thanks for that.  I've certainly learned a few things about BBC Alba, its funding and the history of why these games are on that platform.  Some notes and points of clarification below though ...

I've been watching the diddy fitba content on Alba for years now, and I'll continue to do so irrespective of the commentary language because (as has been pointed out by others) its the only place that shows fitba at this level.

@Skyline Drifter seems to think I find it odd that a Gaelic TV channel has Gaelic commentary.  To be clear, that's absolutely not my point.  My beef here is that it seems bizarre that a sport that is watched by an English speaking fanbase finds itself aired on a Gaelic TV channel.

Now, at the time of writing the OP I didn't know the background that other channels had expressed no interest in taking these matches, nor did I know that Alba had done so (admittedly at low cost) for the purposes of: (i) increasing their (low) viewing figures, and (ii) hoping to attract interest in their language from an English speaking audience.  I was also unaware that the diddy fitba content attracted the most views for Alba programming.

The point has been made that not all Gaelic speakers live NW of the highland fault line.  I thought I had suggested that geographical split as a rough generalism and not as an absolute de facto statement.  Having worked in Glasgow for many years, I am aware that there are a few Gaelic speakers in the city.  I had the pleasure of working with an engineer (RIP) originally from Eriskay who had moved to Glasgow as a boy having no knowledge of the English language, and he was a wonderful man and one of the most educated I've ever had the pleasure of knowing - and his written use of the English language was first class and his grammar could never be faulted (unlike my own ...).  So to be clear, I have no issue with Gaelic speakers nor with promoting the Gaelic language.

Interesting that the Welsh S4C channel offers English commentary on Welsh fitba via the red-button option.  It's also been noted that this would carry additional cost and that S4C is also a commercial channel which gains revenue from adverts which would help cover this.  With no additional commercials driven revenue stream this solution would appear to be difficult for Alba.

From what I've learned through this thread, I think my real beef lies somewhere across the various TV broadcasters and the SPFL blazers (certainly not with Alba), in that we ended up with a situation where Alba was the only viable alternative to airing these games.  I think that someone said that STV weren't interested in airing the fitba - OK, but I'm sure that they do air the England national team's games (which is another issue in itself and probably already covered in another thread - why do we get their games free to view but not Scotland's)?

Initially I thought I was in a very small minority here, but judging by some of the responses and greenies to the OPs, I'm certainly not in a minority of "one".  Thanks again for the various inputs - any more comments welcome folks!

Edited May 18, 2023 by Otis Blue

[Skyline Drifter]

16 minutes ago, Otis Blue said:

From what I've learned through this thread, I think my real beef lies somewhere across the various TV broadcasters and the SPFL blazers (certainly not with Alba), in that we ended up with a situation where Alba was the only viable alternative to airing these games.  I think that someone said that STV weren't interested in airing the fitba - OK, but I'm sure that they do air the England national team's games (which is another issue in itself and probably already covered in another thread - why do we get their games free to view but not Scotland's)?

 

Because ITV successfully bid for England games and STV gets them by default, they didn't bid for them directly. They aren't on STV anymore incidentally, Channel 4 have the rights currently. Your point stands though that they are therefore available free to air in Scotland.

Scotland's games were bought by Premier Sports (now Viaplay) because the free to air channels either weren't interested or weren't willing to pay as much. The rights are sold centrally by UEFA, not by the SFA, albeit the SFA could opt out of that contractual position if they felt their product was strong enough to market independently. The FA sell England games independently but they have a FAR bigger market to sell to and can afford to do that.

As for lower league football, ultimately you can't make people broadcast them if they don't want to and there's no value in it for them. There's no real valid criticism to be made of "SPFL blazers" to be had from failing to market games to a television audience that struggle to get into 4 figures of people actually wanting to attend them! They aren't on an English language tv station for the same reason South of Scotland games aren't - there's no commercial value in doing so and not enough of a community interest for the nationalised broadcaster to show.

Edited May 18, 2023 by Skyline Drifter

[The Master]

1 hour ago, Skyline Drifter said:

Because ITV successfully bid for England games and STV gets them by default, they didn't bid for them directly.

On a minor technical point, STV did need to pay for their share of the rights. That's why they didn't show ITV's FA Cup (or England) games in the late 2000s - they didn't contribute to the rights cost.

However, the amount STV contributed to that overall contract (and currently contributes to the FA Cup contract) isn't anywhere near what they'd need to pay to get the equivalent Scottish football. 

[invergowrie arab]

1 hour ago, Otis Blue said:

 

@Skyline Drifter seems to think I find it odd that a Gaelic TV channel has Gaelic commentary.  To be clear, that's absolutely not my point.  My beef here is that it seems bizarre that a sport that is watched by an English speaking fanbase finds itself aired on a Gaelic TV channel.

What sports should BBC Alba be able to show? 

Even shinty and the sheepdog trials are majority English.

That basically only leaves the guga hunt.

[Skyline Drifter]

6 minutes ago, The Master said:

On a minor technical point, STV did need to pay for their share of the rights. That's why they didn't show ITV's FA Cup (or England) games in the late 2000s - they didn't contribute to the rights cost.

However, the amount STV contributed to that overall contract (and currently contributes to the FA Cup contract) isn't anywhere near what they'd need to pay to get the equivalent Scottish football. 

I assumed they probably had, I didn't say they hadn't. Just that they didn't bid for them directly. Presumably they had either an opt in or opt out on an ITV network bid? Or indeed had no option at all but to contribute to a national bid?

[Skyline Drifter]

2 minutes ago, invergowrie arab said:

What sports should BBC Alba be able to show? 

Even shinty and the sheepdog trials are majority English.

That basically only leaves the guga hunt.

Haggis herding?

[thisal]

Thanks to Alba, I now know two Gaelic phrases "Par***** tri Raith Rovers noni" added to  "agus a Dandy" the latter I overheard a shopper on Skye ordering Gaelic Gaelic gaelic Gaelic agus a Dandy.

Edited May 18, 2023 by thisal
because of censorship of Partick. Wait till they found out what staunch Kilwinning is.

[The Master]

4 minutes ago, Skyline Drifter said:

I assumed they probably had, I didn't say they hadn't. Just that they didn't bid for them directly. Presumably they had either an opt in or opt out on an ITV network bid? Or indeed had no option at all but to contribute to a national bid?

I think they have an option (or at least did have an option), which is why they didn't show FA Cup and England games for a season (2009/10 I think it was - Setanta picked up the Scottish rights).

 

[The Master]

10 minutes ago, thisal said:

Thanks to Alba, I now know two Gaelic phrases "Par***** tri Raith Rovers noni" added to  "agus a Dandy" the latter I overheard a shopper on Skye ordering Gaelic Gaelic gaelic Gaelic agus a Dandy.

I think everyone now also knows the Gaelic for "penalty".

[Connor1874]

On 17/05/2023 at 13:29, BTFD said:

If Gaelic commentary means we get more opportunities to watch the smaller clubs on the telly, great. It's not long since the idea of an Annan game being broadcast would've seemed ridiculous.

Might just be me, but I don't feel like I miss much without (understandable) professional commentary anyway. I watched most of a World Cup in Spanish once, and it was arguably more enjoyable purely because the Mexican commentators actually sounded like they enjoyed the sport and their jobs. Fan commentary can be better for similar reasons.

Agree with this tbh. Listening to good commentary is nice, but more often than not I tend to zone out of the what they're talking about. I was flicking between Airdrie vs Hamilton last night and Man City vs Real Madrid. I wish Darren Fletcher and Steve McManaman were talking Gaelic so I couldn't understand half the drivel they said.

Find it quite amusing though that usually the co-commentator on Alba doesn't ever seem to be a Gaelic speaker. Nice to break it up a bit I suppose for the non-Gaelic speakers, but whereas most games the co-commentator gets to point things out at his own free will, on Alba they kind of just sit their in silence waiting for their cue to speak English.  Must be quite awkward.

[HibeeJibee]

BBC should deploy regular commentary/pundits like Alba. How will 'Thommo', 'Faddy' or Leanne fare with rugby, sheep trials, folk music, poetry, cookery or canals?

[Scary Bear]

20 minutes ago, HibeeJibee said:

BBC should deploy regular commentary/pundits like Alba. How will 'Thommo', 'Faddy' or Leanne fare with rugby, sheep trials, folk music, poetry, cookery or canals?

I would be up for Faddy’s Canal Journeys.

[Connor1874]

10 hours ago, Scary Bear said:

I would be up for Faddy’s Canal Journeys.

That has to be a job for Michael Stewart surely? 

 

[Zen Archer (Raconteur)]

11 hours ago, Scary Bear said:

I would be up for Faddy’s Canal Journeys.

Gary Mackay-Steven surely.

[Scary Bear]

3 minutes ago, Zen Archer (Raconteur) said:

Gary Mackay-Steven surely.

He can do the next series on Extreme Wild Swimming.

[Otis Blue]

I'm sure I've just heard Richard Gordon announce on Sportsound today that BBC Alba are offering English commentary via red button for Scottish Women's football matches.  So why not for the Diddy games on Alba?

[Ray Patterson]

Heard that the one-year deal for League One has been extended for another season apparently.

Be interesting if they move slot, to make sure there's no clashes with Premier's Saturday games.